McGregor Vows to Leave Gloves in the Octagon After Final UFC Fight

Conor McGregor says he has one fight left on his UFC contract.

He plans to make it his last appearance in the Octagon.

But he is not retiring from combat sports.

Instead, the former two-division champion says he will move to bare-knuckle fighting.

McGregor made the comments while speaking with Spitfire Gym Berlin during a visit to the Hype Italy event in Rome.

The remarks were first reported by MMA Fighting.

“Bare knuckle; I really enjoy bare knuckle fighting,” McGregor said.

“I don’t think there’s any chance of a boring fight in bare knuckle.”

He acknowledged that his enthusiasm might be influenced by his most recent MMA loss.

“Now, I am a mixed martial artist, maybe I’m just saying this because I had a bad time out the last time?” he said.

That bad time came at UFC 329, where McGregor suffered a knee injury against Max Holloway.

He tore his ACL and meniscus in the fight.

The date of his return to the cage is not yet known.

Despite the injury, McGregor made clear that his next UFC bout will be his last.

“Big chance! Big chance! I’m gonna lay off my gloves in that octagon for my final UFC contract, but not to retire; to announce bare knuckle!” he said.

The 38-year-old Irishman already has a financial stake in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

He acquired an ownership interest in BKFC in 2024.

Now he wants to compete in the promotion as a fighter.

“Good MMA, really good MMA is hard to beat,” McGregor said.

“But bare knuckle is very exciting, very dangerous, and it takes more courage for me, I think, to get in.”

“So, I’m looking forward to a bare knuckle fight, myself.”

He also joked about the physical risks of fighting without gloves.

“Eh, teeth come and go! Just like a nose, it means nothing!” McGregor added.

“You can get new teeth!”

McGregor has already floated potential opponents for his BKFC debut.

Speaking at a BKFC press conference in February 2025, he mentioned three names.

“You could say Mike Perry. You could say Jeremy Stephens. You could say a rematch against Eddie Alvarez,” McGregor said.

“You could say many matches... I am open. We will see when it comes.”

Perry has a history with McGregor.

The two faced off at BKFC 41 in 2023, after Perry stopped Luke Rockhold.

McGregor told Perry that night, “I’d fight you, I’d fight you no problem, Mike.”

Eddie Alvarez is a former UFC lightweight champion who also fought McGregor in the Octagon.

McGregor defeated Alvarez by knockout in 2016 to become the first fighter to hold UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously.

Alvarez later moved to BKFC and competed there.

Jeremy Stephens is a longtime UFC veteran who also transitioned to bare-knuckle fighting.

All three men have experience in the BKFC ring.

McGregor also expressed a desire to become a bare-knuckle world champion.

“There are many showcase bouts,” he said.

His move to bare-knuckle has been teased for years.

This is the first time he has explicitly stated that his next UFC fight will be his last for the promotion.

The announcement raises questions about the timeline.

McGregor has not fought since UFC 329.

He is still recovering from the knee injury suffered in that bout.

No date has been set for his return to the Octagon.

Once that fight happens, he plans to immediately announce a bare-knuckle bout.

The BKFC has grown significantly in recent years.